In recent years, as an alternative to conventional beverage or liquid packaging such as bottles and cans, “aseptic bricks” or similar substantially rectangular packages, such as juice boxes, pouches, or the like, have become increasingly popular. Such aseptic brick type packages can include a foil or paperboard tube or sleeve filled with a liquid or semi-liquid materials, such as juices or other beverages, or flowable bulk materials, the ends of which are then sealed to form a lightweight, disposable container. Such aseptic bricks or containers further often are packaged in groups such a four packs, six packs, eight packs, ten packs, etc., in which the generally rectangular or square shaped bricks are placed side-by-side in rows and typically are shrink wrapped or otherwise banded together for shipment and/or sale.
The generally square or rectangular configuration of aseptic bricks and use of paperboard or other generally compressible materials, which also often are coated with a wax or other sealing materials, can create problems for the efficient automated packaging of such aseptic bricks or containers. Typically, the aseptic bricks are fed from the filling and sealing equipment, in which these containers are filled with liquid or other flowable materials and sealed, are fed in a continuous line or stream of products, wherein they can tend to become tightly compacted or compressed together in an end-to-end abutting arrangement, particularly at higher production speeds. Since the sides or ends of the bricks generally are flat, there typically are little or no gaps between the aseptic bricks, whereby conventional selectors, such as star wheels, can engage and separate or segregate the products into groups or sets as needed for packaging, as can be done with bottles or cans having a rounded or cylindrical cape.
As a result, conventional selector systems for the handling of aseptic bricks or similar packages often will utilize intermittent or stop/start motions to try to create some separation between the bricks. For example, some selector systems or units receiving bricks in continuous line will attempt to slow or break the movement of the bricks by clamping the sides of the bricks and then indexing or indexing the bricks to another position for discharge into separate lanes. Such stop/start motions are repeated to form a queue of separated bricks that can then be intermittently fed to a packaging machine individually or by groups of, for example, six to twelve bricks. Such indexed, intermittent feeding motions generally are used to reduce incidents of jamming or bunching of the bricks, but they also correspondingly reduce cycle time for the feeding and packaging of the bricks, which accordingly can limit production rates for packaging these aseptic bricks. In addition, an accumulation conveyor, generally having a length that is dependent on the laning operation of the bricks, further is needed to separately maintain the bricks for feeding into a separate intermittent grouping unit prior to the bricks being fed into the packing machine.
Still further, the size and generally rectangular shape or configuration of most aseptic bricks, creating flat surfaces that are generally placed in an edge-to-edge abutment, as well as the use of waxes or other sealing materials on such surfaces, also can lead to problems with the control of the bricks, especially when there is a change in velocity, such as a stop/start or other intermittent movement of the bricks wherein the speed of the bricks is increased to try to create a series of gaps or spaces as needed to enable engagement by conventional selector systems or devices. Such stopping and starting movements further can result in tipping or undesirable shifting of the bricks, especially for taller or elongated bricks or containers, which problem can be compounded by the drag exerted by the waxy surfaces of the bricks, as well as the limited points or areas of engagement of the bricks by most conventional selector mechanisms.
Accordingly, it can be seen that a need exists for a system and method for the metering, selection and grouping of aseptic bricks or other, similar containers into product groups for introduction into a product packaging machine, which enables the packaging of such an aseptic bricks or similar containers at increased rates and/or without disrupting the substantially continuous motion of the aseptic bricks or containers, and which addresses the foregoing and other related and unrelated problems in the art.